The first hour with Debian 13

debian 13 / published / guide #1 / ≈ 3 min read

You just installed Debian 13 and you're sitting at a fresh login. Before you do anything else, there are a handful of things worth setting up — small steps that'll save you a lot of confusion later.

What is Debian? Debian is one of the oldest and most respected Linux distributions. It's famously cautious: software is held back until it's proven stable. That makes it perfect for servers and for people who want a computer that just works for years on end.

Step 1: Open a terminal

Everything below is typed into a terminal — also called a "shell" or "command line." If you installed a desktop, look for an app called Terminal, Konsole, or GNOME Terminal. If you installed Debian without a desktop, you're already at one when you log in.

You know you're at a terminal prompt when you see something like you@yourpc:~$ followed by a blinking cursor.

Step 2: Give your user sudo powers

sudo stands for superuser do. It lets you run admin commands without logging in as the root (administrator) user. On a fresh Debian install with a root password set, your normal user isn't in the sudo group yet — let's fix that.

Switch to root:

su -

It asks for the root password. Once you're in, add your username to the sudo group (replace your-username with your real login name):

usermod -aG sudo your-username
exit

Log out and back in. The group change only takes effect on a new login session.

Step 3: Fix the package sources

Debian gets its software from "sources" listed in /etc/apt/sources.list. The default list is minimal — to get Wi-Fi firmware, graphics drivers, and a handful of useful tools, you need to enable two extra sections called contrib and non-free-firmware.

Open the file in a text editor (nano is the simplest):

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Make it look like this — replace whatever was there:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main contrib non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie-updates main contrib non-free-firmware
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security main contrib non-free-firmware

Save with Ctrl+O, press Enter to confirm, then exit with Ctrl+X.

Step 4: Update everything

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade

Two different commands, often confused:

  • apt update — refreshes the list of available packages. It doesn't install anything.
  • apt full-upgrade — actually installs the updates, including any that require new dependencies.

Type y when asked to proceed. First updates after install can take a while — grab a coffee.

Step 5: Install a handful of essentials

sudo apt install build-essential curl git tmux vim-nox htop

Quick tour of what those are:

  • build-essential — compilers and tools, in case you ever need to build software from source.
  • curl — downloads files over the internet.
  • git — version control. You'll meet it eventually.
  • tmux — keep terminal sessions running in the background, even if you close the window.
  • vim-nox — a powerful text editor, terminal-only.
  • htop — an interactive task manager.

Step 6: Set a name for your computer

The hostname is your computer's name on the network. Make it whatever you like:

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname tortoise

This takes effect immediately. The old name will still appear in your prompt until you log out and back in.

You're done

That's the basics. From here you can install a desktop, set up a web server, or just enjoy a clean system. Debian won't pester you to update — check back in every couple of weeks with sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade and you'll stay current.

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